Mary DeCardenas, M.P.A.S., PA-C

Biography

Mary DeCardenas, MPAS, PA-C, is a board-certified Physician Assistant in the Department of Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Division at UT Southwestern Medical Center, specializing in Interstitial Lung Disease. Ms. DeCardenas completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology and English literature from the University of Texas. She held certification as a Massage Practitioner in California and interned at the NASA Ames Research Center in support of biology research on the International Space Station. She then earned a Master of Physician Assistant Studies from UT Southwestern in 2003 and completed the PA Fellowship in Rheumatology at UT Southwestern and the North Texas VA Medical Center in 2005. After years of practice in Rheumatology, Ms DeCardenas joined the Pulmonary Division in 2022 to specialize in the evaluation and management of interstitial lung diseases, many of which develop secondary to rheumatologic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, and systemic sclerosis/scleroderma.